Whole Foods shoppers blast Amazon's Prime member discounts

Some Whole Foods shoppers say Amazon's Prime member discounts are worthless, with customers claiming themselves close to nothing on hundreds of dollars of purchases.

"There is no benefit whatsoever," said Claudia Cukrov, an Amazon Prime member who stores at a Whole Foods store in Brooklyn, New York, is a near daily basis.

She said she bought her Amazon Prime member code, which she scans with every Whole Foods, has never saved her any money. She accused Amazon of using the codes to collect data on what she buys, without offering any value in return.

"They are building a full consumer profile on us in the guise of a discount," she told Business Insider.

Amazon rolled out Prime member discounts in Whole Foods stores nationwide last year, about 1

0 months after completing its $ 13.7 billion acquisition of the grocery chain in 2017. The discounts consist of weekly rotation specials for a handful of products, as well as an extra 10% off sale items.

Read more: Amazon's 10% discount for Prime members is now hitting all Whole Foods stores

Spencer Somers said he was excited when he found out about the whole Whole Foods discounts last year. But almost a year later, he stopped scanning his Amazon Prime member code at the checkout of the Los Angeles Whole Foods store where he spends upwards of $ 100 each week.

"I was scanning it every time, but it was not worth the under $ 1 savings," he told Business Insider. "I know how data collection works. They want to look at my receipt and all the stuff I bought, so if that's not worth a good amount of savings, then it's not worth it giving them."

The concerns of Cukrov and Somers are echoed by dozens of complaints on social media.

In a statement to Business Insider, Amazon said buyers' response to the Prime member discounts has been positive.

"Our Prime customers tell us they love the Prime member's discounts at Whole Foods Market." In fact, Prime members have adopted the Whole Foods Market at one of the fastest rates we've seen, "an Amazon spokesperson said. "Since introducing Prime member discounts last summer, Prime members have already saved more than $ 100 million in shopping at the Whole Foods Market. And we expect Prime customers to save even more over the next few months."

Amazon announced this week that it would slash prices by 20% on hundreds of items and double the number of Prime-member deals available to Whole Foods shoppers.

Customers should expect more than 300 Prime-member deals in stores over the next few months, such as a 40% discount on asparagus and strawberries and a 35% discount on Justin's branded products, the company said.

Whole Foods has shared the news with shoppers in an email, You Asked For More Deals. "

"Weekly deals for Prime members are growing. As in multiplying. As in more big savings across the entire store. Turn down almost any drive and boom – you'll find a way to save," the email stated.

With the new discounts, Amazon and Whole Foods seem to be addressing customer complaints. But it remains to be seen if the deals will win back customers who have already stopped scanning the Prime member's codes.

"So far I've only gotten a discount on one item I bought," said Jean-Michel Boudreault, who said he at two stores in Whole Foods in New York City. "It almost seems like a waste of time to pull up the barcode and show it to the cashier every time I shop there."